


Appreciation

by curious_kei



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Oikawa and Kuroo appear briefly, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26119744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curious_kei/pseuds/curious_kei
Summary: Just a short story about Shouyou wanting to show his appreciation to Kenma, and Kenma thinking maybe Kuroo was right about him having a crush on Shouyou. Maybe.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Comments: 7
Kudos: 124





	Appreciation

**Author's Note:**

> I was itching to get to the timeskip to finally start making content, and now that I've finished the manga as of like 4 days ago, I've made a bit. I hope you enjoy! Without further adieu, here is the first Haikyuu fic I've ever written~

Kenma was someone who was easily bored, so anything that piqued his interest or made him excited really stood out to him. It was probably why he’d gotten so hooked on video games. It was _definitely_ why he’d decided to sponsor Shouyou.

Shouyou was like a character straight out of a video game: the chosen hero who started at level one with maybe one or two special attacks but kept leveling up until they’d evolved into a total beast. Ironically, what made Shouyou so intriguing was that he _wasn’t_ out of a video game; he and all his amazing feats and accomplishments were all _real_. Kenma hadn’t been able to resist.

“I’m still kind of surprised you decided to sponsor him,” Kuroo drawled, one leg swung casually over the other as he lounged in Kenma’s comfy chair.

“I have the money,” Kenma explained for what felt like the millionth time now. How many times were people going to bring it up?

“Sure, but you’re not going out of your way to sponsor every volleyball player you know.”

“Not every volleyball player I know is like Shouyou,” Kenma said without looking up from his phone game.

Kuroo’s long silence was enough to make Kenma reluctantly look his way, something he immediately regretted as soon as he was greeted with a sleazy, toothy grin.

“All I’m saying is that Shouyou is special,” Kenma grumbled, pointedly looking away from that infuriating expression.

“Of course, of course!” Kuroo insisted a little _too_ placatingly, and Kenma knew better than to fall into that trap. “Not _everyone_ can be your sugar baby.”

“My _what?”_ Kenma all but hissed, his hand with his phone falling to his lap as he swiveled his head to glare at his friend. Kuroo’s toothy grin just widened as he leaned further forward in his seat.

“Your sugar baby. Because you’re the sugar daddy of a now famous volleyball player.”

The way he stated it so matter-of-factly just made it even more annoying.

“It’s not like that! I’m just his sponsor!” Kenma insisted in a way that sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

“His sponsor who’s also his friend who’s also thirsting for him,” Kuroo amended casually.

“I am _not_ thir _—_ ”

“Call it what you want, but you look at him like he’s a shiny, new, limited edition video game that you pre-ordered at least a year in advance and can’t wait to finally get your hands on it,” Kuroo interrupted to point out, smirking in self-satisfaction at the obvious irritation on Kenma’s face.

“I do _not!_ ”

“It’s okay to admit it, Kenma,” Kuroo stated soothingly with closed eyes and raised open palms. Kenma’s right eye twitched. “I mean, Little Hinata has grown up—or should I say out? He’s been packing on muscle since he first came back from Brazil—not that I have to tell _you_ that, I’m sure.”

“I thought you were supposed to be busy with _work,_ Mr. Businessman,” Kenma spat sourly, his hand already starting his phone game back up.

“I’ll never be too busy to tease my best friend about his crush. Seriously though,” and just like that, Kuroo’s expression shifted into something more serious as well, “even you getting this worked up says a lot. He’s always been the one person who could consistently rile you up—except maybe Tora, if you count that.” He stood up with a sigh, his hands sweeping along his suit to wipe away imaginary dust. “But you’re right, I do have things to do. I’ll talk to you later.”

Once Kuroo left, Kenma made a bee-line to his game room to relieve some stress. There was no way he had a _crush_ on Shouyou; Shouyou was just a really good friend who he appreciated a lot for making his life a little less boring.

-

There weren’t too many things Shouyou felt he could offer Kenma. Not only was _Kenma_ already sponsoring _him_ , he was doing so while sitting on a pretty nice lump sum of cash. If there was anything Kenma really wanted, he could easily just buy it on his own. For as hard as Shouyou worked and for as much as he did on a daily basis, it’d made him all too aware of his strengths and weaknesses. He knew his expertise lied primarily with activities more fitness-driven, something Kenma had never cared much for at all. He could try to teach his friend a new language, but that still didn’t seem to be enough. No, Kenma deserved something really special for everything he’d done for him, Shouyou just had no clue what that could be.

“I just don’t know what to dooo,” Shouyou whined, his forehead pressed flush against the table as he sat across from none other than the ‘Great King’ himself.

Oikawa sighed, his eyes half-mast as he stared off to the side, wondering how he’d even gotten himself in this predicament. Surely Shor— _Shouyou_ had other people to talk to about this sort of thing.

“And why exactly are you asking _me?_ ”

Shouyou peeled his forehead off the table to look across at him with far too much honesty reflected in those wide almond eyes. “You give great advice! Plus, I don’t want this getting back to Kenma somehow and I’m pretty sure that won’t happen with you.”

Oikawa just smirked, flipping his hair self-righteously. When he put it like _that_ , it was obvious why he’d come to him.

“And right you are. But I think you’re thinking waaay too hard on this. If you can’t _buy_ him something, _do_ something for him.”

Shoyou’s brow furrowed, his face making that really focused look he got whenever he was stupidly determined about something. “ _Do_ something…”

“Yup,” Oikawa affirmed with a nod. “I remember Nekoma’s setter being pretty lazy about moving around, and you’re practically buzzing with energy 24/7. Whatever you do should put that to good use.”

He jolted when Shouyou suddenly smacked the table, springing up form his chair with the brightest of grins on his face.

“You’re a genius, Oikawa-san!”

Oikawa’s smug smirk just widened. “Thanks, I know.”

-

“…so let me get this straight…”

“Kenma, we’ve been over this five times now: _yes,_ I want to be your—”

“you want to be my personal assistant?”

“ _Yes._ ”

Kenma continued to stare blankly at his friend while Shouyou stared back looking uncharacteristically drained. Apparently the quickest way to tire out Shouyou was to make him repeat the same thing over and over.

“…I don’t get it,” Kenma stated bluntly, watching as Shouyou’s shoulders sagged with exhaustion.

“You mean a lot to me—” And okay, those words _really_ shouldn’t have put a blush on Kenma’s face. He already knew he meant a lot to Shouyou, and vice versa. This was all Kuro’s fault for putting weird ideas in his head. “—and I want to show it somehow. And I know you don’t like moving so I thought, hey, why not just move for you?”

The amusement was thick in Kenma’s voice as he spoke. “I’m only sponsoring you to move for me _on_ the court, you know.”

“Which is exactly why I want to do this! I want it to be special!”

 _Special._ That was the very same word Kenma often used to describe Shouyou, too. He glanced over to the side while offhandedly tucking a few dark strands behind his ear.

“It’s not like I have anything for you to do though…”

“It doesn’t have to be anything big! Even if you just want me to hand you the remote, I can do that. And I can cook for you too since I doubt you eat anything healthy around here. Oh, and I can make sure you’re getting proper rest!” Shouyou listed off excitedly, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Sounds like you’re going to take real good care of me, _mom_ ,” Kenma quipped with a snort, his head tilting fondly to the side.

Shouyou blinked, his expression going blank in the telltale way that said he was inputting and processing information. His face softened, his bouncing slowing to a stop and his mouth forming an almost silly little smile.

“Yeah, I do want to take care of you.”

Kenma’s face ignited to the tips of his ears, the entirety of his vocabulary leaving him in one fell swoop. Maybe he _might_ have the faintest, most microscopic hint of a crush.

“I-I mean, it’s only fair, right?” Shouyou cut through Kenma’s nonexistent thoughts after a few moments with a nervous laugh. His cheeks were tinged a light pink as he fidgeted where he stood. “You take care of me monetarily, and I can take care of you in other ways. Whatever you want.”

Kenma gently tugged at the ends of his too-long sleeves, his mind finally rebooting itself as he offered up a bashful smile. “Thanks. I’d like that a lot.”

When Shouyou smiled, Kenma almost winced from how bright it was. Any nervousness he’d shown was long-gone, fully replaced by eagerness and joy.

“So what’s my first order of business?”

Being taken by surprise meant that Shouyou didn’t have the time to get into a sturdy stance before he was pushed down onto the couch behind him, a controller tossed in his lap a few seconds later. Kenma settled down beside him with a controller in one hand and a remote in the other, pressing the appropriate button on each to turn on the tv and have it flicker to the gaming system’s home screen. Chucking the remote, he turned towards Shouyou and waggled the controller in the air with a smile. 

“Play this game with me.”

Shouyou laughed as he picked up the controller from his lap, fitting it comfortably in his hands. “With pleasure.”

**Author's Note:**

> I might've been able to add a bit more to this, but the rating would've gone up (though i'm not sure by how much) so I thought this would probably be a good, cute place to stop lol. If you have any thoughts on the story, feel free to let me know in the comments.


End file.
